Bud Adams Brings Pro Football to Houston

On this day, Bud Adams gave a press conference in his boardroom, not only announcing that Houston getting a football team, but that the team would be a part of the newly formed American Football League.

Adams and his oil buddy Lamar Hunt had some deep pockets. And, together they built the American Football League that would directly compete with the NFL. But for the AFL to work, Hunt needed Adams to build a team here in Houston.

Adams launched his campaign to have his future team, that we would come to know as the Oilers, play its homes games at the 70,000-seat Rice Stadium or at Jeppesen High School Stadium. And, that’s exactly where the Oilers played for the first eight years until their home field became the Astrodome. The Oilers even won two AFL championships, but the league officially merged with the NFL in 1970.

In 1996, Adams packed up his team and moved them to Tennessee bringing an end to the Luv Ya Blue era.

What is your favorite memory from watching the Oilers in Houston? Tell us in the comments below, or tweet me, Michael Callahan, @MCallahanTV using #ForgottenDayHOU, and I’ll tweet you back!